Tiktok Timeline

  • The beginnings

    Secretary of State Mike Pompeo says the U.S. is “looking at” banning TikTok and other Chinese social media apps,
  • Trump suggests ban

    Trump suggests a TikTok ban could be deployed to punish China for the outbreak of the coronavirus.
  • Ban in 24 hours

    Trump tells reporters he plans to ban TikTok in the United States within 24 hours.
  • Microsoft in talks to buy Tiktok

    Microsoft confirms in a statement that they are in talks to purchase Tiktok by September 15. https://blogs.microsoft.com/blog/2020/08/02/microsoft-to-continue-discussions-on-potential-tiktok-purchase-in-the-united-states/
  • Executive Order

    President Donald Trump issues an executive order banning transactions with TikTok in 45 days.
  • Deadline extended

    Trump gives TikTok 90 days to be sold or it will be banned.
  • Oracle/Walmart deal

    President Trump says he has approved a deal between TikTok's parent company, ByteDance, and Oracle, temporarily avoiding a ban on TikTok in app stores in the US.
  • TikTok "Here to stay"

    Interim Head of TikTok Vanessa Pappas released a video on Tiktok's official account announcing the Oracle deal and saying that TikTok is "here to stay" with "no change to our users here in US or around the world."
  • Original deadline

    The original deadline for TikTok to be sold to a US buyer.
  • Complications

    US President Donald Trump says that American companies need to control the service, otherwise "we're not going to approve the deal."
  • Judge intervenes

    A US judge orders the Trump administration to either postpone its ban on TikTok or respond by the next afternoon to a request from ByteDance to temporarily block the ban.
  • Current deadline

    TikTok's current deadline to get its deal with Oracle and Walmart approved and sorted out, or approve another deal.